US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI4793

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 004793 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IIP/G/IR-BCONATY; NEA/PPD-JDAVIES; VIENNA FOR 
RPO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRC, KPAO, TC 
SUBJECT: AMERICAN CORNERS IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 
 
REF: (A) STATE 198601 (B) STATE 273900 
 
1. POST REQUESTS 3 (THREE) AMERICAN CORNER COLLECTIONS 
AND SUPPORTING EQUIPMENT TO BE HOSTED AT THREE UAE 
INSTITUTIONS LISTED BELOW. POST ESTIMATES THE COST OF 
EACH CORNER AT APPROXIMATELY USD 75,100. BASED ON MODULE 
COSTS PROVIDED BY IRO MENDELSOHN AND CURRENT PROCUREMENT 
COSTS OF EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES. 
 
2. PAO HILARY OLSIN-WINDECKER AND IRO HENRY MENDELSOHN 
WILL PROVIDE OVERSIGHT FOR THIS PROJECT. 
 
3. JUSTIFICATION: POST IS IN THE PROCESS OF ESTABLISHING THE 
FIRST AMERICAN CORNER AT THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY IN 
THE CITY OF AL-AIN. WE ARE REQUESTING TWO NEW COLLECTIONS FOR TWO 
INSTITUTIONS IN THE NORTHERN EMIRATES, BACKWATERS IN THE 
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SPHERES AND SOCIALLY CONSERVATIVE, HOMES 
OF TWO OF THE 9/11 HIJACKERS. THE THIRD WILL BE IN ABU DHABI AT 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THE APEX CULTURAL CENTER OF THE CAPITAL. 
THE AMERICAN CORNERS WILL HELP SUPPORT MISSION GOALS AS DESCRIBED 
IN PARA 4.  WE ARE REQUESTING MODULES AND MATERIALS TO STRENGTHEN 
CIVIL SOCIETY, AND HELP SUPPORT HIGHER EDUCATION, EDUCATIONAL 
ADVISING, ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING, AND UNDERSTANDING AMERICAN 
CULTURE AND VALUES. 
 
3. THE THREE REQUESTED AMERICAN CORNERS ARE FOR THE FOLLOWING 
INSTITUTIONS: 
 
- "HAI'AT AL BAHTH WAL MUTABA'A", RESEARCH AND FOLLOW UP 
AUTHORITY, EMIRI DEWAN, RAS AL KHAIMAH: THE AMERICAN CORNER WILL 
BE PLACED AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THIS RESEARCH CENTER. IT WILL 
ENHANCE THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE IN THE POOR EMIRATE OF RAS AL 
KHAIMAH AND PROVIDE A PROGRAMMING VENUE IN THIS REMOTE LOCATION. 
THE CULTURAL/EDUCATIONAL ADVISOR TO THE CROWN PRINCE OF RAS AL 
KHAIMAH, DR. HASSAN ALKEEM, IS A POLITICAL SCIENTIST, FORMER 
FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR, AND ISLAMIC SCHOLAR. POST BELIEVES THIS IS AN 
OPPORTUNITY TO PROGRAM TO THE CONSERVATIVE ELITE OF THIS EMIRATE 
TO ENHANCE THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF AMERICAN VALUES AND PROMOTE A 
BILATERAL DIALOGUE ON ISSUES CRUCIAL TO REGIONAL STABILITY. THE 
CENTER WILL SERVE AS A RESOURCE FOR TWO PUBLIC TECHNICAL HIGHER 
EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS, A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY AND THE GENERAL 
PUBLIC. 
 
- FUJEIRAH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE: THE 
SECOND AMERICAN CORNER WILL BE PLACED AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF 
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN THE EMIRATE OF FUJEIRAH. THIS EMIRATE 
IS ON THE EASTERN COAST OF THE UAE ON THE SEA OF OMAN. IT IS 
ANOTHER ONE OF THE LESS ADVANTAGED EMIRATES OF THE UAE AT A 
DISTANCE OF 350 KILOMETERS FROM THE CAPITAL. THE AMERICAN CORNER 
WILL BE THE ONLY WESTERN REFERENCE COLLECTION IN THE EMIRATE AND 
WILL SERVE AS WELL AS A PROGRAMMING VENUE FOR PD PROGRAMS. IN THE 
PAST, POST USED ONE OF THE POORLY BUILT PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO CONDUCT 
A TEACHER TRAINING ENGLISH LANGUAGE WORKSHOP. 
 
- NATIONAL LIBRARY OF THE ABU DHABI CULTURAL FOUNDATION: THE 
CULTURAL FOUNDATION IS THE MOST PROMINENT CULTURAL CENTER IN THE 
CAPITAL CITY OF ABU DHABI. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVES THE STUDENT 
COMMUNITY, PROFESSIONALS IN VARIOUS FIELDS, AS WELL AS GOVERNMENT 
OFFICIALS. POST WILL USE THE AMERICAN CORNER AS A VENUE FOR 
CONDUCTING TRAINING WORKSHOPS AND HOSTING SPEAKERS. ALTHOUGH THE 
ABU DHABI CULTURAL FOUNDATION HAS A MAGNIFICENT FACILITY, THE 
NATIONAL LIBRARY HAS NO AMERICAN REFERENCE MATERIALS. IN THE 
ABSENCE OF AN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER IN ABU DHABI, THE AMERICAN 
CORNER AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY WILL ACT AS A PRIMARY PROGRAMMING 
VENUE. 
 
4. ESTABLISHMENT OF AMERICAN CORNERS WILL SUPPORT TWO FY 2004 MPP 
STRATEGIES: REGIONAL STABILITY. PERFORMANCE GOAL # 2:  RS.02 
 
-- IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM AND THE ONGOING 
MIDDLE EAST CRISES, AMERICAN CORNERS WILL ENHANCE OUR OUTREACH TO 
EMIRATIS TO CONVEY BALANCED VIEWS OF THE U.S. 
STRATEGY # 3: FOSTER GREATER RESPECT FOR DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES 
AND THE RULE OF LAW. 
 
-- TACTICS: 
 
    STRENGTHEN CIVIL SOCIETY:  THROUGH SPEAKER PROGRAMS, 
  INTERNATIONAL VISITORS AND CITIZENS' EXCHANGE GRANTS, STRENGTHEN 
  DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONS (ACADEMIC, MEDIA AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL 
  ORGANIZATIONS) AND WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC LIFE AND 
  ENCOURAGE GREATER FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. (PAO) 
 
    SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION: EXPOSE EMIRATIS TO THE ELEMENTS OF A 
  DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY THROUGH VIGOROUS SUPPORT FOR STUDY BY UAE 
  NATIONALS IN THE US (PAO, USLO) 
 
5. THE AMERICAN CORNERS WILL HELP STRENGTHEN CIVIL SOCIETY BY 
PROVIDING A WINDOW INTO AMERICAN LIFE AND CULTURE, PROVIDE 
BUSINESS RESOURCES FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, AND PROVIDE A PLATFORM 
FOR US SPEAKERS AND VOLUNTARY SPEAKERS DRAWN FROM THE MANY 
AMERICANS LIVING IN THE UAE.  THEY WILL PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR 
R 
EDUCATION BY PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL ADVISING MATERIALS AND ENGLISH 
LANGUAGE TEACHING RESOURCES AND BY PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR OUR 
EDUCATIONAL ADVISOR TO WORK OUTSIDE THE EMBASSY AND FOR AMERICANS 
TO GIVE TALKS TO LOCAL AUDIENCES TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND A 
VARIETY OF AMERICAN VOICES, EXPERIENCES AND PERSPECTIVES. 
6. WE ARE REQUESTING DVC EQUIPMENT IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THE 
HOST INSTITUTION TO ORGANIZE DVCS WITH AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS, 
SUCH AS SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES, AND PCS TO FACILITATE 
ACCESSING THE INTERNET, ESPECIALLY US WEBSITES. 
 
7. POST HAS ALREADY PURCHASED AN AMERICAN CORNER FOR THE UNITED 
ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF AL AIN. THIS FIRST 
AMERICAN CORNER IS ON SCHEDULE TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE UNITED 
ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY BY MID WINTER AND WILL SERVE AS THE 
MODEL FOR THE ABOVE REQUESTED CORNERS.  IF WE RECEIVE FUNDING FOR 
ALL THREE CORNERS WE WILL HAVE A TOTAL OF FOUR IN THE UAE, ONE IN 
THE CENTRALLY LOCATED CITY OF AL AIN, TWO IN THE STRATEGICALLY 
IMPORTANT NORTHERN EMIRATES AND ONE IN THE CAPITAL CITY IN THE 
APEX CULTURAL CENTER. 
 
 
8. DETAILED BUDGET BREAKDOWN 
 
ESTIMATED PRICE FOR ONE AMERICAN CORNER IN THE UNITED ARAB 
EMIRATES: 
 
MODULE                             PRICE          VOLUMES 
 
ADVISING REFERENCE                 $2,608.23      56 
AMERICAN HISTORY I CORE            $3362.35       49 
AMERICAN HISTORY II NON CORE       $1710.20       50 
BIOGRAPHY                          $1711.74       70 
BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS             $72.00          3 
BUSINESS INFORMATION               $1,983.67      14 
CD-ROMS                            $5,409.25      24 
EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION            $2,195.22      28 
ENGLISH TEACHING                   $5,908.46      207 
FICTION                            $1,573.50      114 
NON-FICTION                        $2265.82       121 
REFERENCE: CORE                    $6,902.97      91 
VIDEOCASSETTES MODULE              $4068.60       29 
     SUB-TOTAL:                    $39772.01      856 
 
 
LIBRARY/MULTI-MEDIA RESOURCES: 
 
ADDITIONAL 250 VOLUMES             $7,500.00      250 
150 EDUCATIONAL/CULTURAL FILMS     $4,000.00      150 
(TO BE SPENT AT DISCRETION OF RECEIVING INSTITUTION) 
     SUB-TOTAL:                    $11,500.00     1256 
 
COMPUTER/MULTIMEDIA EQUIPMENT: 
 
FOUR-POINT POLYCOM DVC EQUIPMENT        $9,400.00 
34-INCH MULTI-SYSTEM TV MONITOR         $800.00 
4 MULTI-SYSTEM VCRS                     $1,000.00 
3 DESKTOP PENTIUM COMPUTERS             $6,000.00 
1 LASER PRINTER                         $1,000.00 
1 SCANNER                               $200.00 
     SUB-TOTAL:                         $17,400.00 
 
     SUB-TOTAL:                         $ 68672.01 
 
ADD 5% FOR POSSIBLE PRICE INCREASE ON EQUIPMENT AND 
MATERIALS. 
5%=$3422.5595. 
 
                                        $ 68672.01 
                                        $  3,422.55 
     COST OF FURNITURE AND SHELVING     $  3000 
 
TOTAL:                                  $ 75094.56 
 
$75,094.56 X 3 AMERICAN CORNERS FOR THE UAE= $225,283.68 
ALBRIGHT